E.U. Says Europe Faces Deep Recession
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The European Union said Monday that Europe is suffering ''a deep and widespread recession'' and that unemployment will rise sharply over the coming two years, The New York Times reported on an Associated Press story. The European Commission said both the 27-nation EU and the 16 countries that use the euro currency will shrink by 4 percent this year, more than double its January estimates, when it forecast a 1.8 percent contraction for the EU and a 1.9 percent decline for the euro area. Because of the big drop in output, the Commission said some 8.5 million jobs will disappear in EU in 2009 and 2010, more than wiping out the number of new jobs created in the last two years. Euro-zone unemployment will hit a postwar record of 11.5 percent next year, it said. Read more.